Method of making wheels



Oct. 20,1931. 6.5m 1,828,157, 11151110 or mum msnns Original Filed Kay28. 1928 3 sheets she'et 1 J 1 Bear. 55am I HTIYS Oct. 1931. I s. SPATTA1,828,157

IE'NIOD OF MAKING WHEELS Original Filed May 28, 1928 3 Shoots-Sheet 2 HTh's.

0a. 20, 1931. G. spun METHOD OF MAKING WHEELS Original Filed lay 28.1928 '3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I lw sllllllx ||||I|||| M 4 M m o, v J .v, W J 5J M Q A 4 w in U 8 F C L M TTE'ITZEL Bear E Patented a., 20, 1931Original application filed May 28, 1928,

UNITED ,STATES) PATENT (BFFI'CE cnonen sra'rra. or BUCHANAN, MICHIGAN,assrenoa T0 CLARK EQUIPMENT com.-

PANY, OF BUCHANAN, MICHSGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN METHOD OF MAKINGWHEELS This application is a division of my pending application SerialNo. 280,97 9, filed May 28, 1928.

The present invention relates to the method of making metal wheels,particularly of the type employing a sheet metal spider. The particularfeature to which the present invention is directed is the manner ofuniting the rim and spokes of a wheel of the type dis closed in mycopending application, Serial No. 246,926, filed January 16, 1928.

The spider of the wheel is preferably made of two sheet metal stampingsdrawn and formed to proper shape, united at their central parts to forma huband provided with lock seams along their outer marginsextendingalong the s1des of the spokes and along the web joining the spokes.Relatively thin sheet metal as of the order of fifty thousandths of aninch in thickness is employed in the preferred embodiment of theinvention, and it will be appreciated at once that joining the ends ofthe spokes to the metal of the rim, which rim is of the order of onehundred twenty five thousandths of an inch considerable strength inbending if properly supported, the spokes must be inserted within therim in such a manner as to have a close fit and suitable bearing todevelop the full strength of the sheet metal spiden. i

. According to'the present invention l employ an internal reinforcingmember in the end of the spoke, preferably in the form of a shortcylinder, the inner end of which is closed, and I weld the side walls ofthe end of the spoke to this reinforcing thimble at the lock seam or at-other points for the purpose of uniting the thimble with the metal ofthe end of the spoke and thereafter depress the This depressing of theweb may -be carried to the point of web of the rim into the thimble.

puncturing the web of the SeriaI No. 280,979. Divided and thisapplication filed April 15, Serial No. 355,070.

rim and expansion of the downturned metal of the flange of the webwithin the thimble or it' need not be, carried that far. As analternative form of my invention themetal of the web may be punched downand expanded into the open end of the sheet metal spoke to form-aninternal flange in the end of the spoke. This flange may then be weldedto the side walls of the spoke and the opening may be closed in anysuitable manner as by a sheet metal stoppel or plug. The plug might beof solid metal. It may be welded to the rim as by spot welding.

The internal reinforcin thimble provides the necessary hoop strengt toprevent splitting or bursting of the end of the spoke and also it givesthe thin metal of the end of the spoke additional bearing surface tosupport a column load. The web of the rim may be spot welded in turn tothe end of the lock seams on the spokes to give the spider the abilityto support a part of the load at the hub in tension.

Now in order to acquaint those skilled in the art with the manner ofconstructing and operating a.device of my invention I shall describe inconnection with the accompanying drawings a specific embodiment of theinvention and the method of making the same.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a wheel constructed in accordance with andembodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is an edge view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional detail view'illustrating the manner ofmaking the joint between the end of the spoke and the web of the rim. K

Fig. 4 is a similar fragmentary sectional view illustrating a modifiedform of making the joint between the end of the spoke and the web of therim. I

Fig. 5 is a section taken along the line 5, 5

" of Figure 1 showing a cross section of the spoke.

Fig. 6is a plan view of the spider pressed into the rim or felloe withthe clamping device in place.

-view of a modified form of jis' an edge view of the clamping device.

Fig. 8 is an edge view of a modified form of wheel employing a dropcenter rim.

Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 9, 9 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view through the end of a spoke andthe adjacent g art of the rim taken on the line 10, 10 of 1 8; and I ig.11 is a similar fragmentary sectional joint between the rim and the endof a spoke.

While in the drawings I show a wheel of the type employing a demountablerim and another wheel showing a drop center rim for receiving a tiredirectly, I do not Wish to be limited to either specific form, althoughit is desirable to close any perforations in the web of the rim wherethe tire bears directly upon the rim, as in the case of the drop centerrim.

The wheel shown in Figs. 1, '2 and 3 comprises a felloe 1 formed of anendless circular outwardly facing channel section having a wider flange2, a narrower flange 3 and joining web 4. This form'of rim may be boughton the open market and secured with holes v5 formed therein forreceiving the clamping bolts for holding a demountable rim, as is wellunderstood by those skilled in the art. The rim may also have holes 6punched therein for receiving the ends of suitable wedge membersemployed in conjunction with 'bplts for holding the demountable rim in pace.

The spider 7 is made of sheet metal. Two complementary stampings blankedout and drawn in dies, as disclosed in my copending application, SerialNo. 280,981, filed May 28, 1928, are first formed and then joinedtogether by tubular shouldered rivets such as the rivet 8 shown in Fig.9 and then oined together at their edges by lock seams such as the lockseams 9 shown in Figures 5 and 9 employing suitable channel strips 10 toform the lock seams.

The stampings employ each a central hub disc 11 joined to the web 12 bya shoulder 13, the size of this shoulder varying for hubs of differentdepth or thickness. A central opening 19 is formed through the hub andthe opening is defined by inturned flanges 14, 14, formed on each of theplates 11. The plates 11, 11 are connected by the shouldered hollowrivets 8 having the heads 15, 15 beaded over and lying in thedepressions in the plates 11 so that the heads 15, 15 do not projectbeyond the outer surface of the plates 11. The stampings are providedwith outwardly extending or curled flanges 17, 17 as may be seen inFigures 5 and 9, these curled flanges extending on the sides of thespokes 18. 18, and the parts of the web 12 between spokes, and theU-shaped channel strips 10, 10 are closed over the flanges 17, 17 andswaged down to form lock seams,' which lock seams 9 terminate flush withthe end on each side.

After the spider is completed it is gripped in a two part clamping ring,the parts being applied on opposite sides and grip ing the ends of thespokes, and then the spi er with the "clamping ring thereupon is pressedlat.- erally into the rim 1 to insert the spider in the rim.

In order to strengthen \the ends of the spokes for this pressingoperation and for the subsequent operations, there are introduced intothe ends of the spokes before the clamping ring isapplied thimbles 20,20 as shown in Fig. 3, these thimbles having cylindrical side walls andthe closed end wall 21. The thimbles are welded to the side walls of thespoke ends, preferably as indicated in Figs. 3 and 4, by a spot weld at22 through the lock seams 9.

If desired, the welding of the thimbles 20 to the ends of the spokes maybe performed by spot welding on each side of the look of the spoke seams9, 9. However, it is advantageous to weld through the lock seams inorderto weld extending the flanges and the channel strip 10 togetherspokes, particularly around the outer edgesof the spokes upon closing ofthe clamp. The diameter of the clamping rings at 39 is substantiallyequal to or slightly less than the diameter of the spider.

After the spider with the thimbles in the ends of the spokes has beeninserted in the rim 1. the wheel is placed in a pres. the clamping ringbeing suitably supported by the bed of the press, and a punch is forcedthrough the web 4 of the channel to pierce the web and turn the flanges23 downwardly into the interior of the thimbles 20.

The punching and expanding of the flange 23 is done while the clampsupports the web 4 and the end of the spoke 18, the clamping ring takingthe endwise thrust and also sustaining the radial pressure about theflange 23 in the thimble 20. The flange 23 is thus pressed or swagedfirmly into engagement with the cylindrical wall of the thimble 20 andthereafter the web 4 is welded to the ends of the lock seams 9 at 25.The spot Weld at 25 may be omitted if desired, as shown in themodification of Fig. 4. A weld may be formed through the down turnedflanges 23 4 Spider, the spider being closed at all other points. Theopenings 24 produced by drawing down on the flanges 23 are notobjectionable in the form shown in Figures 1 and 2 since the felloe 1supports a demountable tire rim.

. If, however, the construction is to be einployed with a drop centerrim bearing the tire directly, the opening 24 may be closed by a plug orsheet metalstoppel, such as-that shown at 27 in Fig. 11.

Where a drop center rim such 'as' 30 (see Figs. 8 and 9) is employed,the construction of the spider may be thesame as previously described,and the web of the drop center part 31 has the spider forced thereintoto secure a close fit. The web 31 in this case (see Fig.

10) is preferably not punctured but is. mere- 1y depressed as indicatedat 32 into the open end of the spoke and the open end of the thimble 20.The thimble 20, prior to the introduction of the spider into the rim, iswelded to the lock seam 9 by welds indicated at 22, :22, and after thespider has been forced into the rim and a depression 32 formed in theweb 31 the end of the spoke may be welded to the web 31 by means of thespot welds at 25, 25 as shown in Fig. 10.

Where the thimble 20 is employed in the.

end of the spoke the spider may be forced into the rim underconsiderable pressure, that is, with a relatively close press fit so asto put the rim under tension and the spider under considerablecompression. Where welds are formed between the outer ends of the spokeand the Web of the rim, as shown in Figs. 3, 10,1 and 11, the load atthe hub may be carried partly in tension as well as in compression ofthe spokes.

In Fig. 11, I have shown a modified form of union between the ends of,the spokes and the web 31 of the drop center rim 30. This form of unionmay be employed in connection with the felloe 1 shown in F ig s. 1 and 2if desired. In this case the thimble 20 is omitted, the spokes beinggripped in the clamping ring and pressed into the rim 30, and while thussupported in the clamping ring the web 31 is punctured and the flange 32pressed or swaged into contact with the inside wall of the spoke 18, thesame being supported by the clamping ring. Thereafter the end of thespoke is welded through the lock seam 9 to the depending flange 32 by aweld indicated at 43 to unite firmly the end of the spoke and the flange32 punched out of the rim 30. The weld 43, instead of being,

formed at and through the lock seam, may

be formed on either side of the same through a single thickness of sheetmetal of which the main part of the shaft of the spoke is formed.

Thereafter the end of the lock seam 9 may be spot welded as indicated at25 to the web of the rim. The opening 44 produced by punching down theflange 32 may be closed as by the sheet metal plug 27 or by any othersuitable plug which may in turn be welded.

to the web of the rim or may be held with a friction fit in the opening44.

I do not intend to be limited to the details shown and described nor tothe exact sequence of operations herein referred to as it will beobvious to those skilled in the art that numerous deviations will bepermissible within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The method of making a wheel which comprises forming an endless rimof outwardly facing channel section forming 00- operating spiderstampings of larger external diameter than the internal diameter of therim, uniting the meeting edges of the spider with lock seams and at thehub portion with rivets to form a spider having a hub and radiatingsheet metal spokes, forming closed end cylindrical thimbles, forcing thethimbles into the ends of the spokes with their open ends substantiallyflush with the ends of the spokes, welding the thimbles to the ends ofthe spokes, tensioning therim on to the spider by pressing the spiderinto the rim, piercing the web of the rim to produce flanges extendinginto the ends of the thimbles thereby further tensioning the rim on thespider, and welding the ends of thelock seams to the web of the rim. 7

2. The method of making a wheel which comprises forming an endless rimof outwardly facing channel section, forming a spider of two sheet metals tiimpin s, uniting the stampings at their edges by ock seamsterminating at the edge of the spider spokes, forcingthe completedspider laterally into the rim, piercing the web of the rim to produceflanges extending into the ends of the spokes, welding the flanges tothe lock seams, welding the ends of the spokes to the rim and pluggingthe openings in the web.

3. The method of making a wlieel which comprises forming an endless rimof. outwgrdly facing channel section-forming coo ting spider stampings,uniting the meet 4 1,aas,1s7

on the spider by piercin the web of the rim to produce flanges exten'ing intothe ends of the thimbles.

4. The method of making a wheel which 5 comprises forming two comlementary spiders having semitubular spo es united by lock seams alongthe meeting edges of the spokes and hub sections of the spider,inserting strengthening members into the ends of lo the spokes, mountinthe spokes in a clam ing rin the end 0 which is substantial y flush withthe end of the spokes, forcing the spider with the clamping ring thereoninto an endless rim of slightly smaller internal diameter than theexternal diameter of the spider, whereby the ring prevents distortion ofthe spokes during the pressing o eration, piercing the web of the rim topro uce flanges extendin into the ends of the spokes, welding 9 the s 0es to the web of the rim and removing the c amping ring.

5. The method of making a wheel which comprises forming twocomplementary spiders having ,semitubular spokes united by 25 lock seamsalong the meeting edges of the spokes and hub sections of the spider,inserting strengthening members into the ends of the spokes, mountin thespokes in a clamping ring the'end 0 which is substantial y 3 flush withtheaend of the spokes, forcing the spider with the clamping ring thereoninto an endless rim of slight smaller internal diameter than theexternaf diameter of the spider, whereby the ring prevents distortion ofthe 3s spokes during the pressing operation, piercing the web of the rimto produce flanges extending into the ends of the spokes, welding thespokes, the strengthening members and the rim together, and removing theclamping In witness whereof I hereunto subscribe my name this 9th day ofApril, 1929.

GEORGE SPAIITA.

